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10 Things You Didn't Know about Femi Otedola

Femi Otedola was born on November 4, 1962 in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, which is located in Western Nigeria. His father is the late Sir Michael Otedola, who was the Governor of Lagos State from the years 1992-1993. Otedola is a prominent businessman He is an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and Chairman of the company, Forte Oil Plc, a company that imports fuel products. Otedola is also the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., and owns several other businesses that span across the fields of shipping, finance, and real estate. You might say that Otedola wears many different hats and has carved out a rewarding, wealthy life for himself and his family in Nigeria. If you don't keep up with the oil business, or who's on the list of most wealthy men in Africa, you may not recognize the name. If you are familiar with this wealthy businessman, then keep reading to learn ten things you didn't know about Femi Otedola.

1. One of the richest men in Africa

Otedola is definitely a rich

Otedola has fluctuated up and down with his net worth, however, no matter how you cut it, he's rich. He's acquired a lot of money through his investments and share holdings and has even found himself on Forbes' list of Richest Men in Africa. Otedola's net worth has been estimated at $2.5 billion, at the time he was added to the list, although other sources have listed his net worth as in the $550 million dollar range, due to a drop in the fuel share price of Forte Oil, the company he Chairs.

2. Key player in Forte Oil

One of the biggest names in oil in Africa, is Forte Oil. The company not only owns oil storage depots, but it also manufactures its own line of engine oils as well. Otedola is a main share holder of the company and has been a big part of its growth. He was the key player in leading Forte Oil to buy a government-owned stake in a gas-fired power plant that is situated in Kogi State in Central Nigeria. Forte Oil has over 500 gas stations that spread across the country.

3. Worked for his family's business

Before Otedola got into the oil (trade petroleum products), and other businesses that he is now so well-known for, he was involved with his family's business, which was a family printing press. In the late 1980's, Otedola worked for his family's printing press business as a marketing guy, running the department. Maybe that helped to give him a start in learning how to manage people, and whole businesses.

4. Was being cyber-bullied

Otedola was the focus of a family controversy back in December of 2016. It was reported that two of Otedola's sisters who reside in Toronto, Jyoti and Kiran Matharoo, were trying to extort money from their brother and using cyberbullying and blackmail to do it. They reportedly threatened to post evidence of Otedola cheating on his wife, to a notorious sex-scandal website.

5. Daughter is a Disc Jokey

Otedola's daughter, Ifeoluwa, apparently didn't get the "oil" bug. Instead, she branched off in a whole other direction when it came to choosing her career. Ifeoluwa's forte is in the music industry and she's developed quite a name for herself. She's not only just a disc jockey, but she is a very popular disc jockey in Nigeria and goes by the moniker, 'DJ Cuppy." She was the official DJ for the inauguration of Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari in May of 2015.

6. He's buff

Otedola is not only extremely wealthy, but he's buff, too. He cares about his physique and keeping in shape and if you've got the money, you probably have your own private gym in your home, which makes it that much easier to keep up with working out. Otedola hits the gym for at least an hour a day in order to keep fit and when you're as busy as this guy, I would think you have to take care of yourself in order to keep up with his kind of life.

7. Married with children

Otedola is very much a family man. He is married to his wife, Nana, and together, they have three daughters and a son. The family is often seen out and about together and are sometimes captured in pictures, going to dinner, cruising on his yacht, and other events, such as when his younger daughter graduated for high school, Otedola was photographed with his wife, his graduating daughter and an older sibling, out celebrating the big event.

8. His Petroleum company supplies gas to big-name companies

Otedola is the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., his company that supplies petroleum products. In 2005, Zenon Petroleum grew to be a major supplier of diesel products to big companies, many that we are familiar with. See if you recognize any of these names: Coca Cola, Nigerian Breweries, MTN, Unilever, Nestle, Guinness, Dangote Group, and Cadbury. Zenon Petroleum has been one of the biggest wealth-building businesses for him.

9. Owns a seven-star hotel

Outside of the oil business, Otedola dabbles in other ventures as well, like real estate. He is the owner of FO Properties Ltd and was appointed Chairman of Trascorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja. With that property, he was given the task of turning the hotel into a seven star hotel, and can only imagine what that means. In 2007, his company Zenon acquired the Stallion House in Victoria Island in Lagos for N2.3 billion, which he bought from the Federal Government.

10. Philanthropist

Otedola is known to be charitable and has given large sums of money to many different causes. Some of his biggest donations include, 80 million Naira to the agriculture faculty of the University of Port Harcourt, back in 2007, he donated N300 million to the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja in 2005, and in 2007, he generously gave N200 the State Secretary Trust Fund, which was aimed to help put an end to crime in Lagos.

Femi Otedola is a fascinating man with an incredible story. He is well worth the research to find out more about who he is. He has really helped to shape the world of oil and other businesses, as well as his companies have helped to fuel the economy by creating jobs. It is very obvious that Otedola has lived a very rich life, in many ways.

 

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Maria McCutchen

Written by Maria McCutchen

Maria McCutchen is an author and freelance writer living in Chattanooga, TN. She is the published author of her memoir, “It’s all in Your Head,” and a children’s book. She has been writing for over 15 years; writing articles, whitepapers, product write-ups and more for multiple online media sites, blogs, company websites and individuals. She is also an advocate for brain malformations, including Chiari Malformation, and works closely with the non-profit organization, The Chiari Project, writing for their quarterly newsletters.

Read more posts by Maria McCutchen

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